Dear Parents,
We had a great virtual staff meeting this morning, and our teachers and EAs are working so hard to put together a meaningful educational plan for your child(ren). We are asking for you to be patient and understanding as we try and get all of the various technologies up and running. For many staff, this will be the first time that they are using these platforms (Google Meets, Zoom, Google Classroom, …). I understand that it will be new for all of you as well, so there will definitely need to be some adjustment time for all of us to learn how to use these technologies. A few items to take note of as we gear up to start on April 6th.
1. You will receive a Google Meets invitation from the school by 8:40am that will allow you to connect for Oh Canada, morning prayer and birthday announcements. It may be spotty or not work well, but we will try it and see what happens! I am hoping that our choir members will join in and lead us in Oh Canada 🙂
2. Your child(ren)’s teacher and EA (where applicable) will be reaching out to you this week to let you know what the plan is for next week. You will have the opportunity to see what technologies are going to be used and prepare for these prior to Monday. The email from the teacher will address items including; suggested timetable/schedule, how assignments will be given out, how assignments will be collected, methods of communicating, frequency of communication, …
3. If you have a need for a Chromebook, we will loan out a Chromebook to families that don’t have enough technology. This is for families that don’t have a Chromebook available, or for parents with more than one child that need accessibility. If you need to borrow a Chromebook from the school, please email me directly with your request. I will send you a loan agreement to sign and return, as well as arrange a time for pick up.
4. For any families that did not respond to me about picking up supplies, if you still need supplies from school, please email me and we can set up a time for you to come and get them.
5. Please note that the school building will only be occupied by the childcare staff and no other staff. Mrs. Kravjanksi and I will be splitting our time at school. Mrs. Rieu plans to check into school once a week to listen to phone messages and get mail. You may continue to email me or Mrs. Rieu at any time, however phone messages will not be responded to until they are checked. Any pressing issues should be emailed.
I will continue to communicate regularly with parents as I get information that is relevant to you. I expect that once things get going, the frequency of emails will go down. Please direct any classroom specific questions to your child(ren)’s teacher. Finally, please understand that although your child(ren) are not physically at school, our days count as educational days and we still need to submit “attendance.” This will be done based on your child’s involvement in all of the activities and interactions that are going to be sent out by the classroom teacher. Submission of assignments and participation in live meetings set out by the teacher are important and mandatory. I know that these are stressful times for everyone. It is important to look after your and your family’s mental health and wellness during this time. If there is anything I can do to support you or assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact me by email. I will be online Monday to Friday during regular school hours and will reply as quickly as I can. Please know of my prayers for all of you during this challenging time. I want to especially thank all of our essential service workers for their commitment and courage to put themselves at risk every day, in order to help the rest of us get through this pandemic.
I look forward to “seeing” you live on Monday morning at 8:45.
God bless,
Clive Heah | Principal
St. Patrick’s School, Maple Ridge
www.stpatsschool.org
604-467-1571 (t)